50 Fun Facts About The Gilded Age
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Take the 50-question quizWho created and writes The Gilded Age?
He originally conceived it as a Downton Abbey prequel about Lord Grantham and Cora's courtship.
On which network does The Gilded Age air?
It was first announced for NBC in 2018 before moving to HBO in May 2019.
In which decade is the series set?
Season one opens in 1882 and season three reaches 1884.
Who plays Bertha Russell?
Her casting prompted the costume team to move toward metallic dresses evoking the machine age.
Who plays Agnes van Rhijn?
She is the old-money widow who looks down on any fortune younger than the Declaration of Independence.
Who plays Ada, Agnes's younger sister?
Ada's late marriage to Reverend Luke Forte ends up saving the family fortune.
Who plays Bertha's robber-baron husband?
He was among the first four actors announced in September 2019.
Which actress was originally cast as Bertha before being replaced in April 2020?
COVID delays forced the recast in April 2020.
Who plays Marian Brook, the orphaned niece who comes to live with her aunts?
Marian arrives from Doylestown, Pennsylvania after her bankrupt father's death.
Who plays Peggy Scott, the writer who becomes Agnes's secretary?
Agnes hires her after admiring her penmanship.
Who plays Peggy's mother Dorothy, a skilled pianist?
John Douglas Thompson plays her pharmacist father Arthur.
Where in Manhattan do the Russells and van Rhijns face each other across the road?
Jack later buys a house on the same street with his clock money.
Which real architect designed the Russells' mansion in the show?
White was also the real designer of Reid Hall, used as a location in season two.
Who plays Oscar van Rhijn, Agnes's son?
Oscar courts Gladys for her money while secretly maintaining his relationship with John Adams.
Who plays society arbiter Ward McAllister?
His tell-all book gets him banned from New York society in season three.
Who plays Caroline Schermerhorn Astor, 'The' Mrs. Astor?
The real Mrs. Astor, of Dutch descent, was the gatekeeper of New York society.
The Russells appear to be based partly on which real couple?
Alva Vanderbilt won over Mrs. Astor by throwing a 1,000-guest ball that Carrie Astor longed to attend.
How does George respond when Bertha's ballroom is snubbed for the charity bazaar?
His deal with Alderman Morris in the same episode ends with the aldermen ruined.
What does Alderman Morris do after George's stock squeeze ruins him?
His widow Anne later blames George when Bertha is voted onto the Red Cross board.
Which real journalist publishes Peggy's story and hires her at the New York Globe?
Born into slavery, the real Fortune helped found a predecessor of the NAACP.
Which Red Cross founder do Bertha, Marian and Peggy travel to Dansville to hear?
Linda Emond played her; Bertha is later voted onto the Red Cross board.
What disaster threatens George with manslaughter charges in season one?
Someone passed off substandard axles as new; his stenographer and a colleague had framed him.
Which inventor's Pearl Street power station ceremony do the characters attend?
Bertha excludes Marian from her carriage party to make room for Tom Raikes.
What goes wrong when Ward McAllister shows Bertha around the Astor summer house?
Bertha is hustled out of Mrs. Astor's Newport home through the servants' quarters.
What does Bertha do when the queen of New York society declines her call?
Mrs. Astor makes amends by attending the ball and bringing society with her.
What is the secret of the Russells' French chef, Monsieur Baudin?
Josh Borden trained in France; Bertha fires him, then rehires him when his replacement gets drunk.
Who jilts Marian on the day they planned to elope?
The Doylestown lawyer marries into money instead, with Miss Bingham.
What does Peggy learn about the son she was told had died?
She and her mother go to Philadelphia to find him, only to learn he has since died.
Bertha backs which new institution against Mrs. Astor's Academy of Music?
The 'Opera War' ends with both houses opening on the same October 1883 night.
Bertha's former maid Turner reappears in season two as the wife of whom?
As Mrs. Winterton she schemes for the centre box at the Met.
Which playwright, in New York for his play Vera, takes an interest in John Adams?
Jordan Waller played him in a season-two guest role.
Where does Peggy travel with Fortune to cover a new school dormitory?
They stay with Booker T. Washington and later flee a restaurant confrontation.
Whom does Ada marry in season two?
Agnes opposes the match, then attends the wedding; Luke dies of cancer soon after the honeymoon.
What invention does footman Jack Trotter patent?
He and Larry eventually sell the patent for $600,000.
Whose leadership does Larry discover at the Brooklyn Bridge trustees' meeting?
She had been running the project during her engineer husband's illness.
Whose box does Bertha take at the Met after the centre box is reassigned to her?
George secretly financed the Met's completion and forced Mr. Gilbert to hand Bertha the box.
Who vanishes with Oscar's investment, nearly ruining the van Rhijns?
She was rumoured to be Jay Gould's illegitimate daughter; Larry later spots her at the Haymarket.
What saves the van Rhijn house after Oscar's losses?
The discovery shifts the balance of power between Ada and Agnes.
Which British aristocrat does Bertha push Gladys to marry?
Ben Lamb plays Hector; Gladys first secretly engages herself to Billy Carlton.
Which painter does Bertha commission for Gladys's portrait in season three?
Bobby Steggert played him as a season-three guest.
For how much do Jack and Larry sell the clock patent?
Jack's $300,000 share makes him nearly as rich as his employers.
What is the name of Hector's English estate that Bertha visits?
She helps Gladys stand up to Hector's domineering sister, Lady Sarah.
Who plays J. P. Morgan in season three?
Morgan insists a majority shareholder must take charge of the Illinois Central expansion.
What metal makes Larry's Arizona land deal unexpectedly valuable?
Undetected veins give George the leverage to outmanoeuvre Risley Sage and Mr. Clay.
How does John Adams die in season three?
Oscar inherits his summer house and some money.
Who saves George's life after he is shot at his office?
The Black physician happened to be at the van Rhijns' to see Peggy; he later proposes to her.
In which Rhode Island town did filming begin in February 2021?
The Breakers, The Elms and Chateau-sur-Mer all appear.
Which upstate New York city had blocks transformed into a Victorian street for filming?
Its Central Troy Historic District stood in for 1880s Manhattan.
How many Emmy nominations did season two receive at the 76th Primetime Emmys?
They included Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Coon and Baranski.
Which streaming service carried the series in Australia, skipping Foxtel?
It was the first recent HBO series to bypass Foxtel's output deal there.
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